


lesson 1.09: attraction

by horizonyunho



Category: ONEUS (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:47:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26510911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/horizonyunho/pseuds/horizonyunho
Summary: Dongju isn’t sure that the tutor his university assigned to him has any idea what he’s doing. Keonhee thought tutoring was going to be easy money.
Relationships: Lee Keonhee/Son Dongju | Xion
Comments: 5
Kudos: 37
Collections: WEUS Harvest Moon Fest





	lesson 1.09: attraction

**Author's Note:**

> and my usual tendency to write in chunks comes back again;;; considering i had a slow start, i kind of like how it turned out.
> 
> (also to the promoter sorry for butchering your prompt, i kinda adjusted it to "keonhee passed his chem class by a miracle but he has no idea what he's doing as a tutor")

“I see you got your first failed quiz from Professor Han,” Hwanwoong said, walking over to the common area, where Dongju had spread out his chemistry notes across the table. Hwanwoong was the first dorm mate Dongju had seen after move-in day; the others, Minsu and Jisu, were often gone by the time Dongju woke up, and back after he had gone to sleep due to their schedules. They were all the same age, except for Hwanwoong, so they'd traded rooms in order to give him the biggest room. “Can I see?” Dongju simply handed over the quiz paper over, watching as Hwanwoong inspected it. 

“He gave it to us as a pre-test after asking us what we wanted to do as chem majors,” Dongju explained, looking down at his lecture notes and hoping that Hwanwoong wouldn't look too closely at some of the questions he'd gotten marked wrong. “Pretty much everyone said  _ chemist _ or  _ pharmacology _ , I said I was undecided between pharmacy and medicine _. _ ”

“I'll let you in on a secret,” Hwanwoong replied, making a big gesture out of whispering as he handed Dongju his test paper back, “I had him over the summer, he did this to us, too—he says he only drops one grade at the end, your lowest. But he always drops this one, too. I even asked my tutor—he was a chem major, like you—who took Professor Han the term before I did, and he said the same.”

Dongju looked back down at the test paper, seeing it in a new light. “Oh. T-Thank you.”

“You’re welcome—don't get me wrong, he’ll be a nightmare in the beginning, the university tutoring center is well acquainted with his victims,” Hwanwoong continued, stifling a smile, “but once you get used to him, he's not that bad.”

Dongju sat in the common area after Hwanwoong left, staring at the open email draft; he'd kept Hwanwoong’s advice in mind, and combined with the fact that his chemistry background was fairly weak, he figured that tutoring was inevitable—he could only help that his advisor wouldn't be as unhelpful as he had been when Dongju had been trying to register for classes.

**—**

“Still no luck?” Seoho asked, while Hwanwoong passed Dongju the drink the two had ordered for him in advance. Dongju accepted it gratefully, looking around the cafe once he sat down. Once it became clear that Dongju’s class schedule would make it impossible for him to attend regular on-campus tutoring sessions—the amount of correspondence on the subject between Dongju and his advisor had made it so that Dongju’s reaction to his advisor’s emails was a frustrated “oof,” much to Hwanwoong’s amusement—Hwanwoong’s old tutor, Seoho, had begun giving him occasional tutoring sessions. “I had your same advisor, he wasn't ever this…  _ inconvenient,  _ though.”

“I thought he was alright at the beginning,” Dongju recalled, stealing one of Seoho’s cookies and quickly eating it. He continued, “Minsu was the first of my roommates to reach out to me. I guess he got my student email off the housing portal, and he gives me his number. I texted him, and he tells me—”

“—not to take Professor Han first thing in the morning?” Hwanwoong supplied, taking a sip of his bubble tea. Dongju nodded.

“And then I did my registration, with my advisor telling me what classes to take and at what time, which caught me off guard. I watched Dongmyeong do his class registration the day before, and all Dongmyeong did was try and match as many of his classes to Giwook as he could.”

“At least I chose Professor Han on purpose; Youngjo hyung bet me my favorite snacks that I wouldn't take and pass Professor Han,” Seoho responded, a slight smile appearing at the mention of the latter. “I couldn't imagine walking into Professor Han’s classroom because my advisor woke up one day and decided to ruin my life.”

“Well, that's comforting,” Dongju mumbled, almost sorrowful; had Seoho not been busy with a new internship he had managed to score, Dongju would have loved to have Seoho as a tutor. “I guess I’ll just hope that my advisor finally remembers how to log in to his emails, because he hasn’t been answering for a while.”

Dongju pulled the crumpled flyer out of his pocket, doing his best to smooth it out over his desk. He had returned to his dorm once Hwanwoong and Seoho left the cafe to attend a lecture they had together; a student had handed him a teal flyer, which Dongju had stuffed into his pocket so that he could view it later. 

He immediately recognized it as the teal flyer Jisu had added to the communal corkboard in the living room; Dongju had never looked at it closely, but he recalled Jisu’s several claims of having come up with the flyer’s overall design—though if Minsu was within earshot, hed interrupt Jisu and point out the flyer was actually designed by Son Donggeon, one of their friends.

**_Tired of pulling all nighters for Prof Han?_ **

**_E-Tutoring available!_ **

Dongju pulled his laptop towards him, opening up his student portal and clicking the email tile once the page had loaded.

  
  


**To:** _ dson1001@xxxx.edu _

**From:** _lee_sw@xxxx.edu_

**Subject:** _ e-tutoring _

_ Good afternoon, _

_ I had previously reached out to my advisor regarding my concerns that my current course schedule would block me from attending tutoring sessions on campus, particularly as many, if not all, of my classes overlap with the usual on-campus tutoring. This especially applies to the class that I would like to receive tutoring for: Organic Chemistry with Professor Han. I came across the flyer for the developing e-tutoring program, and I would be interested in more details about it. Thank you for your time and I apologize for any inconvenience.  _

_ Cordially, _

_ Son Dongju _

  
  


**;;;**

  
  


Of all the things Keonhee had accomplished as a university student, he liked to pride himself the most on being the only student in his class to have passed Professor Han’s final with a near perfect score. It was that same achievement that landed Keonhee his job as a tutor for the university’s growing e-tutoring program; the upperclassmen that handled his interview—a literature major named Junyoung and a sociology major that simply introduced himself as Woo, who were also e-tutors under the new program—praised him thoroughly when he mentioned his exam score.

The administrator in charge of the e-tutoring promptly sent him an email within the next few days, welcoming him to the team; the email included a short powerpoint listing both his responsibilities and instructions for downloading and installing the appropriate software for the e-tutoring sessions themselves. 

“Maybe I should get into e-tutoring,” Geonhak remarked, catching a glimpse of Keonhee’s starting pay as he looked through the powerpoint to make sure Keonhee had set up everything correctly. Geonhak had become the unofficial go-to person whenever Youngjo or Keonhee had technological issues—Youngjo, in particular, liked to joke that he and Keonhee were simply preparing Geonhak for “the technological questions his students would ask him”—so Keonhee figured it wouldn't hurt to ask Geongak to double check his handiwork. “You're going to be a chemistry tutor?”

“What? I managed to do well with Professor Han; how hard can tutoring chemistry be?”

**;;;**

  
  


Dongju nodded as Keonhee went through the answer for the sample question, taking note of some of the details he initially missed when doing the practice worksheet Keonhee recommended. Upon learning that Keonhee had taken Professor Han before, Dongju begged him for any stories—regretting it momentarily when it occurred to him that Keonhee might back out of tutoring him—but Keonhee obliged as best as he could.

“So you were the engineering major that angered Yongjin so much he switched his major to Korean Literature,” Dongju commented, putting his pen down just as Keonhee finished telling the story of his final exam with Professor Han. “I know that he replaced the last chemistry tutor for the on-campus sessions; I thought it was weird at first, since I didn't know he used to be a chemistry major. However, my dorm mate, Jisu, sees him often and Jisu said that Yongjin claimed he left chemistry after  _ being disrespected by an engineering major. _ ”

“Yeah, he used to brag that he would be the one to bring glory back to chemistry—since you know, the past few valedictorians have been art majors, that  _ apparently _ meant he needed to  _ save chemistry _ —but he got angry about me beating him in exams, so he switched out,” Keonhee said, showing his own binder from Professor Han’s class when he finally found it. “Show me your work for the next question?”

Dongju held up his paper to the camera the best he could, watching as Keonhee quickly consulted some of his own notes before nodding—indicating that Dongju’s answer was correct.

“I don't know the protocol for these things, but... thanks?” Dongju eyed the clock, noting that the session was over; no wonder he could hear Minsu and Jisu returning, their last class ended right before his sessions. “You're really saving my chemistry deficient ass by doing this; I'm sure you have your own things to deal with, too.”

“It's alright, it's my job to  _ save your chemistry deficient ass, _ remember?” Keonhee joked, getting up to put away his old chemistry binder on a shelf behind him and sitting down at his desk to neaten a few things. “Anyway, have a nice night, Dongju.”

**—**

“Cute and smart—damn, you got yourself a good one,” Dongmyeong remarked. 

“What?”

“You used my phone to cancel an appointment with your tutor that one time, remember?” Dongmyeong asked, still scrolling, “so the  _ powers that be _ decided to suggest his Instagram account to me.”

“Good for you?” Dongju replied, continuing to read the novel he’d found at a local bookstore. Despite all the effort they put into trying to shape their schedules so that they could meet up reasonably often, they barely saw each other—Keonhee was the last subject Dongju thought Dongmyeong would bring up. “When you messaged me because you'd managed to convince one of your friends to drive you over, I didn’t think you’d want to talk to me about my chemistry tutor, of all things,” he added, while Dongmyeong tried to remember where he’d seen Keonhee before—claiming to have previously encountered Keonhee, before the latter became Dongju’s tutor.

Whether it was true or not, Dongju didn't know; but considering how Dongmyeong seemed to know everyone on one of their first outings of the school year, Dongju wouldn't be surprised if it was true.

“If it makes you feel any better, it seems like he’s single. Maybe you could—”

“Dongmyeong!”

**;;;**

“Well, you’re definitely the last person I expected to see here.”

Keonhee gripped the miserably small cup of cold brew, turning around to find Dongju; if Dongju noticed his skittish demeanor, he didn’t bring it up. 

“What brings you here?” Keonhee asked, watching as Dongju plugged in his flash drive into the laptop he’d borrowed from the school once his own had met its end, as Dongju had said,  _ “in Kang Hyungu’s hands.” _ Dongju scrolled through several file folders before settling on the one he needed and opening up the assignment he had been working on. “I thought you said you hated the dining hall.”

“I heard from one of my classmates that the dining hall wasn't that bad in the morning, since not many people come,” Dongju explained. He reached over to steal one of Keonhee’s abandoned tater tots. “Not sure what I think of it yet, though. What about you? I thought you said the cold brew was overrated.”

“The cold brew is overrated,” Keonhee maintained, shaking the small cup for emphasis. “But they didn't have anything else, so I decided to drown my anthropology sorrows in a cup of shitty cold brew.”

“If you need help with anthropology, I can help,” Dongju offered. “Honestly, if I dont go into pharmacy, I’d also like to go into neuroscience or art. I guess it depends.”

Keonhee took a sip of the cold brew, “On what?”

“On whether I get a hang of chemistry? I don’t know, really,” Dongju confessed, continuing to type as he spoke with Keonhee. “I think, in the end, I might go for something with some sort of mobility—that way, I can have some flexibility when it comes to my career and interests.”

“Makes sense,” Keonhee agreed, stopping when he caught a glance of the approaching dining hall staff member. “I think we have to leave soon.”

“Come to my apartment, no one’s there right now,” Dongju proposed, stealing Keonhee’s last tater tot in one quick motion. “I can even… help you with anthropology right now, if you’d like?”

**—**

_ “You think about Dongju a lot, don’t you?” Youngjo had teased him a few days ago, catching the engineering major in one of his brief stints outside his room. Keonhee wouldn’t classify himself as a shut-in, but he would readily admit to occasionally locking himself away in his dorm until he finished all the work he needed to. “I heard from Seoho that you asked him for a brief chem refresher.” _

_ “It’s literally my job to think of Dongju’s academic progress; I would assume that means thinking of him,” Keonhee responded, heading for the common area to search for a textbook. “Also, I needed a chem refresher for my Wednesday lecture.” _

_ “I’m the TA for your Wednesday lecture,” Geonhak pointed out, joining Youngjo on the couch, “your Wednesday afternoon literature lecture.” _

Keonhee would have to concede—he did think of Dongju. The campus suddenly seemed so much smaller— _ cue the line a student representative had pitched him about the small campus creating family bonds among students _ —once he found out that Hwanwoong, one of his best friends since his first year of university, was roommates with Dongju.

“You decorated well,” he finally managed, claiming Dongju’s grey bean bag as his seat, “I severely under packed my first year, so I spent a few weeks with the same five shirts before I finally brought some things over from home.”

“ _ Technically,  _ it’s thanks to Dongmyeong and Giwook.” Dongju moved a couple of things before sitting down on his bed, facing Keonhee. “They moved into their dorm about a week before I did, so I kind of just took note of Dongmyeong’s first week experience based on what he packed.”

“My parents are actually friends with Seoho hyung’s,” Keonhee said, “so they got him to help me, but he kind of just trolled me the whole time.”

Dongju held back a smile when Keonhee jumped at the distant campus clock ringing, signifying noon—the same expression tinged with vague amusement that showed whenever Keonhee stumbled over a minor detail during their sessions. 

“Damn, we’ve really wasted half a day,” Dongju quipped, confirming the time by glancing at his clock. “All this conversation and yet I never helped you with your anthropology questions.”

“It’s alright,” Keonhee assured, “I’m spending it with you, aren’t I? I’d say it’s a pretty good day.”

**;;;**

Dongmyeong was the worst.

“You  _ literally _ just confessed to dreaming about  _ kissing your chemistry tutor.  _ I think it's fair to say you find him somewhat attractive.” 

“Didn’t you literally have multiple dreams with you kissing Yonghoon hyung last year?” Dongju responded, going through his anthropology notes one last time before his scheduled final. He’d invited Dongmyeong for some potential practice, as anthropology was one of the few subjects they were both taking that semester—but Dongmyeong’s mind was clearly elsewhere, evident from the fact that .

Dongmyeong raised an eyebrow. “That's not the point.”

“Does it really matter? My final’s in… what, two days?” he closed the notebook, reaching for a review book he’d borrowed from his classmate, Seongjun. “ I probably won't see him again, I dont want his last impression to be that kid he was supposed to tutor that he had to reject—”

“Then become his boyfriend?”

“Dongmyeong!”

**—**

_ wish me luck im taking anthro in five and after that its chem _

_ fuck im not ready i suck at figuring out sig figs _

_ good luck!! you'll do great o(^▽ ^)o _

_ dw i hate sig figs too _

**;;;**

“Is this what the kids do these days?” Youngjo looked over the makeshift care package Keonhee had assembled for Dongju, complete with several of the snacks he’d seen Dongju eat or heard him mention. As a last minute decision, Keonhee had chosen to add a small stuffed bear dressed in the school’s graduation attire; Dongju had mentioned walking by the school bookstore and seeing the bear through the window on his way to get a morning drink _ —“whatever doubts I had about attending this school just… evaporated when I saw it”— _ so Keonhee figured it had to make the cut. Before Keonhee could reply, Youngjo had already gone in search of Geonhak, who was in his room. Keonhee could hear his ramble through the wall, “It’s the cutest thing.”

“Leave the kid alone,” Geonhak said, letting himself get dragged away from his exam review by Youngjo. Once Youngjo had oohed and aahed over his gift, Keonhee headed down towards the mailbox room. He'd never admit it to Youngjo’s face, but the latter’s reaction had given him a boost in confidence. 

The girl at the front desk of the dorm, Miyoung, smiled at him as he walked over. Miyoung’s shifts at the front desk usually aligned with Keonhee’s attempts at leaving Dongju something—one of his previous mini care packages for Dongju had gone missing, and Miyoung had helped him locate it later on—which meant they usually held some sort of conversation, and Keonhee considered her a friend.

“He’s taking exams,” he explained, handing over the box for Miyoung to keep it in the back room with the rest of the larger packages that didn't fit in the university mailboxes. He sighed, reaching into his pocket for the small note he had written and slipping it into the teddy bear’s grasp. “Please make sure that doesn't fall out. I might just die if it does.”

Miyoung just smiled. “Don't worry, you can count on me.”

**—**

**dongju !!**

_ yknow what anthro is the worst _

_ wait you left me snacks, didn't you?? in my mailbox?? _

🏃♂️ 🏃♂️

  
  
  


Dongju had passed Keonhee his dorm key in the middle of his class switch, giving him relative access to anything in his mini fridge _ —“Just don't eat the donuts, I save those for when I'm busy reevaluating my life, but everything else is free real estate.”  _ He’d spent a good amount of time talking to Hwanwoong, who made it his duty to tease him for all the impromptu chemistry tutoring sessions he’d asked Seoho for. The mountain of plushies Dongju had moved onto his mini fridge stared at him ominously as he waited for Dongju to return.

“So, I kinda confessed to Dongju in that note I left in the school spirit teddy bear,” Keonhee admitted to the plushies, fidgeting with his phone. “I didn't really have a specific plan for the note, so it was just rambling about how much he means to me—also came clean about having asked Seoho hyung to occasionally tutor me so that I could tutor him, I thought it might amuse him, at least. So what does the council think? What are my chances?”

“You kinda suck at chemistry,” Dongju greeted, barely managing to open the door to his room from his hands being full from the snack box Keonhee left him. “But that’s what hyung is for?”

“Dongju,  _ I like you a lot, _ but we are not having tutoring dates with Seoho hyung in the immediate vicinity. I suffered too much when I was trying to tutor you.”


End file.
